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Kilroy Bomber
The Kilroy Bomber is a large heavy bomber painted with the "Kilroy was Here" doodle on both sides of the fuselage. The other reasons it's known as the Kilroy Bomber is because of it's enormous size! The Kilroy Bomber was and still is the pride of Morton's bomber squadrons. Early Kilroy Bombers The first Kilroy bomber was a larger version of a Martin B-10 Bomber; designed to carry the 2000lb bomb. In 1922; the Air Force wanted a large bomber that could fly long distances and return unharmed. At the time; the Air Force was experimenting with tungsten carbide; a virtually indestructible metal; to use as armour and construction of the planes. There was only three heavy bomber types duing 1922 that were proposed to be modified as a Kilroy Bomber. The Martin B-10 was the winning choice; and the Air Force decided to build an upsized verison of a Martin B-10 to use as a test bed for the tungsten carbide armour. On March 15 1922; the B-10K rolled out the factory and was hauled by road to the KoopaTown Airfield. The plane was inspected thoroughly by Morton for any defects. When he was satisfied with everything; he gave the order to have the plane fueled and prepared for it's first flight. Jarrett Le Kat (brother of Tom Le Kat); was the chosen as the first person to fly the Kilroy Bomber. On that same day; the Kilroy Bomber fired up it's engines for the first time; and took off from KoopaTown Airfield without a problem. The flight lasted 27 minutes. When the plane landed again at KoopaTown Airfield; Jarrett was greeted as hero; as he flew the worlds first super bomber. After the successful flight; the Air Force placed orders for more Kilroy Bombers. New designs Following the first flight of the Kilroy Bomber in 1922; the Air Force decided to incorparate the aircraft into service. In 1932; a new design of Kilroy Bomber was drawn up. By 1934; the aircraft had rolled of the assembley line and took off for the first time. It was called the XB-15; and it was the largest Kilroy Bomber at the time. It was later superceded bt the XB-19 Kilroy Bomber; which was larger. Later on; the XB-19 paved the way for the B-18 Kilroy Bomber. it was not as big as the XB-19; but was still large enough to be classified as a Kilroy Bomber. It was a rather out-dated looking aircraft; but it was state of the art. In 1937; there were 268 "Bolo" Kilroy Bombers in service with the Air Force. Then in 1938; the B-17 Flying Fortress came out; but the Air Force wanted to upsize the aircraft to create a Kilroy Bomber variant. In middle 1938; the first XB-38 Kilroy Bomber rolled off the assembley line. The XB-38 Kilroy Bomber was considered beautiful by it's pilots. Technically; the XB-38 was just an upsized B-17 with Allison V-12 engines. Over 700 were built; ans some still serve today. The B-24 came next; but wasn't really a favorite for a Kilroy Bomber; so less than 90 were built. Even the B-25 didn't make a good Kilroy Bomber. Then; came the B-29 Superfortess. Whent that plane came out; the Air Force grabbed as many as they could to modify to Kilroy Bombers! The end result was one of the most famous Kilroy Bomber designs; the XB-39 Kilroy Bomber. More than 5,000 of these were built; with all 5,000 still surviving; with 485 still in service; even more than the 277 XB-38's still serving today! The Jet Kilroy Bomber The war carried on right through 1945; and jets were popping up all over the place. The Air Force decided that a jet powered Kilroy Bomber would be a great invention. With the Horten Ho 229 flying wing fighter in current service; the Air Force was inspired by it's design; and said that 'THAT"is what the first jet-powered Kilroy Bomber would look like: and they were right. The world's first jet-powered Kilroy Bomber did look like the Ho 229. The XB-49 was a massive aircraft; with 8 turbojet engines driving it. It was fast; faster than any of the conventional Kilroy Bombers; except the XB-39. The XB-49 was a graceful aircraft. When it flew by; it's distinctive shape would get peoples' attention. The aircraft is in active service as of 2012; with a handful of them in museums.